Clothespin



g- 1950 E. B. WERNETTE CLOTHESPIN F iled March 28, 1945 I I N VEN TOR.

[UQENE .B. Vldsmv: 1' rs.

ATTORNEK Patented Aug. 22, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to utility articles or devices and moreespecially to clothespins.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple, practical andinexpensive clothespin article of the character described.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedclothespin structure embodying a unitary structure combiningself-acting, flexible, gripping members with features whereby themembers may be manipulated by hand to article-engaging or -releasingcondition.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an improvedembodiment of a clothespin which is substantially nonbreakable,resistant to wear and having longer life than clothespins known to theprior art.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clothespin incorporatingthe above mentioned objects which may be made of a durable plastic orsimilar material which is not subject to deleterious action by moistureor chemical reaction from washing solutions.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent from a furtherconsideration of the description and drawing.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a clothespin embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the same shown in article-engaging position.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, I show a clothespin l whichmay be made of a suitable plastic material such as Lucite, or similarmaterial, having a central U-shaped member ll having a centralresiliently flexible portion l2 and a pair of upwardly extendingportions or arcuate legs l3 having upper ends I4.

A pair of clamping members l are formed integrally with member I2 andextend downwardly from ends l4 and curve around portions I2 and i3 beingspaced therefrom a small amount by spaces [6. Members l5 terminate attheir lower ends in a pair of jaws I! which have curved, mutuallypresented cam faces l8 and tapering entrance cam faces l9.

Ends l4 are curved outwardly at 20 forming finger pieces or means bywhich portions I5 may be flexed or bent together against the resiliencyor flexure thereof to separate jaws II as shown in Figure 2 for engagingan article of clothing such as 2| or a clothesline 22.

The clothespin I0 may be made of any suitable material such as wood or aplastic material such as Lucite and if made of such a plastic materialcan, be molded into substantially the form shown, or it may be cut outfrom larger sheets or out ch into pieces of desired thickness fromextruded strip pieces having substantially the transverse section shownin. Figure 2. If desired, clothespin I'll may be made of metal andeither molded, stamped or pressed into form, in which event thecross-section of the material will be substantially less than that shownin the several figures and particularly Figure 3.

The structure being unitary as described, the central member I I will beflexible or resilient and have a region of flexure approximately at thelower bend l2 when the upper portions I3 are pressed together manuallyby pressure applied to finger pieces 20. In this manner jaws H areseparated a distance to permit easy engagement of an article of clothing2| wrapped around a clothesline 22. However, if the article shouldrequire additional spacing of jaws I! such spacing will occur by theresiliency or fiexure of members l5, the flexure normally occurring nearthe upper portions thereof adjacent ends l4.

It should be obvious that the clothespin can be secured to the article2| by a mere downward movement over the article and clothesline 22, thetapered faces [9 facilitating the entry between cam faces [8, or thejaws I! may be separated manually as described. Conversely, theclothespin may be removed from the article and the line by mere liftingmovement whereupon jaws I? will separate by the cam action of surfacesill, or the jaws may be manually separated by pressure applied to fingerpieces 20.

Although I have herein shown and described my invention in what I haveconceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isrecognized that departures may be made there from within the scope of myinvention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed hereinbut is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace anyand all equivalent devices and systems.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A clothespin comprising a single piece of homogeneous non-metallicresilient material, said clothespin having a central somewhat U-shapedmember formed so that ends of the arcuate legs are closer together thanthe remaining portions thereof, an arcuate clamping member on each sideof the central U-shaped member forming a space therebetween, the ends ofsaid legs being joined integrally to adjacent ends of the respectiveclamping members, each clamping member having one of a pair ofcomplementarily formed jaws presenting oppositely disposed recessedclothesline gripping cam faces and outwardly flared entrance cam facesadjacent thereto, said cam faces on opposite sides being initiallyspaced apart a minimum distance providing a clear passage therebetweenand wherein the ends of the legs are spaced apart one from another, saidcam faces on opposite sides being adapted to spread against resistanceof said clamping members and said central U-shaped member to a maximumopen position wherein said ends of the legs are in abutment thereby toinhibit further opening of said jaws.

2. A clothespin comprising a single piece of homogeneous non-metallicresilient material, said clothespin having a central somewhat U-shapedmember formed so that ends of the arcuate legs are closer together thanthe remaining portions thereof, an arcuate clamping member on each sidehaving substantially thesame radius of curvature as the adjacent leg ofthe central U-shaped member and forming a space of uniform breadth anddepth therebetween, the ends of said legs being joined integrally toadjacent ends of the respective clamping members forming recessed fingerpieces, each clamping member having one of a pair of complementarilyformed jaws of thickness greater than said clamping member presentingoppositely disposed recessed clothesline gripping cam faces andoutwardly flared entrance cam faces adjacent thereto, said cam faces onopposite sides being initially spaced apart a minimum distance providinga. clear passage therebetween and wherein the ends of the legs arespaced apart one from another, said cam faces on opposite sides beingadapted to spread against resistance of said clamping members and saidcentral U-shaped member to a maximum open position wherein said ends ofthe legs are in abutment thereby to inhibit further opening of saidjaws.

EUGENE B. WERNETTE.

. REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,091,413 Wilkins Mar. 24, 19141,916,856 Copeman July 4, 1933 1,928,536 Heinlen et a1 Sept. 26, 19332,137,542 Murphy Nov. 22, 1938 2,255,467 Kabriel Sept. 9, 1941

